y/3.7L63 
GH8la 
cop  .2 


Houser,  M.L. 

Abraham  Lincoln. 


LINCOLN  ROOM 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


presented  by 

M.    L.    Horner 


Abraham  Lincoln 


An  Address 

BY 
M.  L.  HOUSER 

521  Spruce  Ave. 
KANSAS  CITY.  MISSOURI 


THE  U8B.«Ry  Of  THE 

JUN  7      1933 

UNIVERSITY  Of  ILLINOIS, 

MARCH  1.  1928 


PRESENTATION  COPY 
PRIVATELY  PRINTED  AND  NOT  FOR  SALE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnadOOhous 


31^, 

;/L(^3 

Gj  navo-. 

C  :    :'- 

o 

COPYRIGHTED.  1928 

Bv 

EDWARD  J.  JACOB 

Printer 

PEORIA.  ILLINOIS 

Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


834088 


PREFACE 


The  Publisher  has  asked  me  to  write  a  Preface.  Since  they 
are  seldom  read,  it  may  be  all  right  for  me  to  make  this  one 
a  bit  personal. 

My  forefathers  followed  Boone  into  Kentucky  about  the 
same  time  the  Lincolns  did,  and  settled  near  them.  They  removed 
to  The  Old  Eight  Judicial  District  of  Illinois  soon  after  Abraham 
Lincoln  went  there.  A  great-uncle  spent  the  year  1834  at  New 
Salem  and  knew  him  as  a  young  man.  My  great-grandfather  was 
his  personal  friend  and  local,  political  lieutenant.  Both  grand- 
fathers admired  and  followed  him.  My  father's  chief  claim  to 
fame  was  that  a  few  months  before  he  became  of  age,  in  1861,  he 
voted  illegally  for  Lincoln  and  Hamlin. 

I  was  born  almost  within  sight  of  the  county-seat  town  in 
Illinois  that  bears  Mr.  Lincoln's  name,  in  the  county  named  for 
his  partner,  Judge  Logan.  As  a  wide-eyed,  open-mouthed  boy, 
I  listened  with  intense  interest  to  stories  told  of  him  by  people 
who  had  known  him  in  life.  Since  securing  a  temporary  armistice 
with  the  wolf  that  lingers  near  my  door,  I  have  enjoyed  buying 
and  reading  every  worth-while  book  about  Lincoln  that  I  could 
obtain — and  pay  for. 

If  the  conclusions  I  have  reached  prove  of  interest  to  any- 
body, or  encourage  someone  to  make  a  study  of  the  best  authorities 
on  the  life  of  our  First  American,  I  shall  be  pleased. 

Respectfully, 

M.  L.  H. 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


Many  of  our  great  men  and  our  statesmen  have 
been  self-made;  but  Lincoln  rose  from  a  lower  depth 
than  any  of  them — from  a  stagnant,  putrid  pool, — 
Herndon. 

This  great  contest  has  visibly  been  held  in  the 
hands  of  Almighty  God.  It  was  He  who  chose  the 
instrument  for  this  work. — Stowc. 


Mr.  Lincoln,  I  believe,  was  neither  a  Political 
Acccident  nor  a  Special  Instrument  of  Divine  Prov- 
idence. He  was,  I  believe,  the  natural  product  of 
his  Ancestry,  his  Training,  his  Environments,  and 
his  Times. 


ANCESTRY 

Most  of  the  information  we  have  regarding  Mr.  Lincoln's 
ancestry  was  unknown  to  him;  and  practically  all  we  now  know 
about  his  childhood  environment  and  early  training  only  recently 
became  available. 

When  he  grew  to  manhood,  he  knew  very  little  about  his 
people,  and  did  not  like  to  talk  about  them.  (1)  He  believed 
his  mother  to  be  the  illegitimate  daughter  of  a  well-bred  but  ob- 
scure Virginia  planter,  and  was  unable  to  find  a  record  of  the 
marriage  of  his  parents.  (2)  His  attitude;  their  own  lack  of 
skill  Jn  securing  accurate  information;  and,  in  Lamon's  book, 
political  hatred,  explain  why  some  of  his  early  biographers  related 
as  history  the  scurrilous  stories  told  about  his  parentage  and  child- 
hood, by  his  enemies,  in  the  political  campaigns  of  1860  and 
1864.  (3)  These  stories  were  supplemented  by  the  testimony 
of  some  members  of  'certain  cognate  families,  who  apparently 
thought  to  minimize  their  ov/n  inferiority  by  making  derogatory 
statements  concerning  the  Lincolns.  (4)  Many  subsequent 
biographers  simply  repeated  what  they  elected  to  select  from  the 
mass  thus  made  available. 

But  some  later,  better-trained  and  less-easily-satisfied  investiga- 
tors have  uncovered  fact  after  fact  which  prove  that  the  truth  is 
the  exact  contrary  to  most  of  what  has  been  written  on  the  sub- 
ject. Miss  Tarbell  and  Dr.  Barton  established  his  honorable 
ancestry,  and  wrote  about  his  early  life  in  a  judicious  and  sympa- 
thetic manner. 

It  remained,  however,  for  Professor  Louis  A.  Warren  to  un- 
cover the  evidence  which  now  enables  us,  for  the  first  time,  to  speak 
with  confidence  regarding  the  life  of  the  Lincolns  in  Kentucky. 
From  1919  to  1925,  inclusive,  in  thirty  Kentucky  counties  and 
elsewhere,  he  gathered  over  1,500  court  entries  and  other  documents 
which  relate  to  the  Kentucky  life  and  environment  of  the  Lincoln 
and  Hanks  families.      (5) 


Within  twenty-five  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Mayflower, 
eight  men  of  the  name  of  Lincoln  had  come  from  the  west  of 
England,  and  settled  at  Hingham,  Massachusetts.  (6)  Enter- 
prise, a  desire  for  more  liberty  and  love  of  adventure  seem  to 
have  caused  their  migration;  so  it  is  not  strange  that  ambition,  a 

9 


passion  for  justice  and  the  pioneer  spirit  have  lead  as  the  charac- 
teristics of  their  descendants.  They  were  generally  prosperous, 
prolific  and  patriotic.  One  was  a  member  of  the  Boston  Tea  Party. 
Many  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  To  Massachusetts  alone, 
they  gave  a  Revolutionary  general,  two  governors,  a  number  of 
judges,  and  many  legislators.      (7) 

Samuel  Lincoln,  the  first  American  ancestor  of  the  President 
bearing  that  name,  arrived  at  Hingham  in  1637.  Many  of  his 
descendants  became  men  of  position  and  property.  One  was  head 
of  the  Massachusetts  bar.  Attorney  General  and  Secretary  of  State 
of  the  United  States,  and  declined  an  appointment  to  the  Supreme 
Court.  Another  was  Governor  of  Maine,  and  a  writer  of  more  than 
ordinary  ability.      (8) 

One  grandson  of  Samuel  Lincoln,  Mordecai,  went  first  to  New 
Jersey,  then  to  Pennsylvania.  He  became  wealthy  and  influential; 
and  many  of  his  descendants  who  remained  in  the  Keystone  State 
have  been  men  of  prominence  and  distinction,  generation  after 
generation. 

A,  grandson  of  Mordecai,  called  Abraham,  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia. During  the  Revolutionary  War,  he  was  a  captain  of  militia, 
and,  for  three  years,  was  judge  advocate  of  the  military  court.  (9) 
He  became  a  prosperous  planter;  but  the  lure  of  Kentucky  caught 
his  restless,  independent  spirit,  and  he  went  there  in  the  wake  of 
his  friend  and  relative,  Daniel  Boone.  In  Kentucky,  he  bought 
several  large  tracts  of  land,  the  aggregate  probably  being  about 
5,000  acres.  (10)  Captain  Lincoln  took  his  wife  and  five  chil- 
dren to  a  fort  near  the  present  site  of  Louisville,  and  built  a  cabin 
on  his  400  acre  farm  nearby.   Here,  he  was  killed  by  an  Indian. 

The  widow,  Bersheba,  took  her  flock  to  a  settlement  of  friends 
and  relatives  who  lived  about  forty  miles  south,  near  where  Spring- 
field, Kentucky,  is  now  located.  Here,  the  boys  grew  up  into 
useful,  well-to-do  citizens,  and  the  girls  married  into  good 
families.      (11) 

Thomas,  the  third  son  of  Captain  and  Bersheba  Lincoln,  and 
now  famous  as  the  father  of  the  President  bearing  that  name, 
received  about  the  usual  education  common  in  Kentucky  at  that 
time.  Documents  have  been  discovered  which  proved  that  he  wrote 
a  good  legible  hand.  Hie  first  worked  as  a  laborer,  and  then 
became  a  skilled  carpenter  and  cabinet-maker.  He  is  said  to  have 
owned  the  best  set  of  tools  in  his  county.  (12)  In  1803,  he 
paid  £118  cash  for  238  acres  of  land  on  Mill  Creek.  (13) 
Some  time  after  his  marriage  to  Nancy  Hanks,  they  removed  to 

10 


a  300  acre  farm  on  the  South  Fork  of  Nolin  Creek;  for  which 
tract,  except  for  a  small  obligation  due  a  former  title-holder,  he 
also  paid  cash.  (14)  This  farm,  lying  about  two  and  a  half 
miles  south  of  Hodgenville,  is  now  famous  as  the  birthplace  of 
their  illustrious  son.  A  little  later,  Thomas  bought  a  better  farm 
on  Knob  Creek.  It  was  about  eleven  miles  east,  and  on  the  main- 
traveled  road  running  from  Louisville  to  Nashville. 

Tax  lists,  the  account  books  of  merchants  and  professional 
men,  auction-sales  reports,  and  many  other  documents  relating  to 
Thomas  Lincoln  have  recently  been  found  by  Professor  Warren. 
These  show,  that,  while  he  lived  in  Kentucky,  Thomas  had,  for 
that  day,  a  comfortable  and  well-furnished  home;  that  he  paid 
his  taxes  and  received  credit;  that  he  had  ready  money  to  pay 
cash  for  the  necessities  and  some  of  the  luxuries  he  bought  at  auc- 
tion for  his  family;  that  he  held  minor  offices  of  trust;  that  he 
was  a  church  member  in  good  standing  and  of  considerable  in- 
fluence. In  the  thousands  of  Kentucky  records  which  Professor 
Warren  found,  not  one  was  detrimental  in  any  way  to  Thomas 
Lincoln.  (15)  Physically,  he  was  an  athlete.  In  his  early 
manhood,  he  was  subject  to  fits  of  depression.  Both  he  and  his 
brother  Mordecai  were  noted  story-tellers. 


Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln,  the  mother  of  President  Lincoln,  has 
been  the  subject  of  much  controversy.  Many  articles  and  several 
books  have  been  written  to  prove  various  theories  regarding  her 
ancestry.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  do  not  now  certainly  know 
whether  her  father  was  a  well-bred,  Virginia  planter,  as  Mr.  Lin- 
coln thought,  or  a  son  of  Joseph  Hanks,  as  Professor  Warren 
believes.  (16)  It  is  agreed,  however,  that  she  was  born  in 
1784,  in  Virginia,  and  that,  soon  afterwards,  she  accompanied  her 
mother  and  the  family  of  Joseph  Hanks  to  Kentucky.      (17) 

She  lived,  successively,  with  her  grandparents,  an  aunt,  and 
in  the  homes  of  other  relatives  and  friends.  The  traditions  of 
the  Kentucky  families  in  which  she  lived  as  a  girl  agree  that  she 
was  "a  young  woman  of  marked  ability  and  high  moral  char- 
acter." (18)  "They  picture  her  as  vivacious,  spirited,  beau- 
tiful; they  tell  of  her  skill  in  handicraft — spinning,  weaving,  all 
the  household  arts  of  the  day.  She  was  obliged  to  pay  her  way  in 
the  families  in  which  she  lived,  but  she  was  a  welcome  guest 
wherever  she  went,  industrious,  cheerful  and  competent."      (19) 

In  the  Ancestry  of  Abraham  Lincoln  can  be  found,  I  believe, 
a  reason  for  every  natural  quality  which  he  had. 

11 


CHILDHOOD  ENVIRONMENT 

Instead  of  being  born  in  the  squalor  depicted  by  his  early- 
biographers,  Abraham  probably  came  into  what  was,  for  that 
time  and  place,  a  rather  superior  home.  Thomas  then  owned  over 
500  acres  of  land,  and  was  a  prosperous  well-to-do  citizen.  Being 
a  skilled  cabinet-maker,  he  no  doubt  furnished  the  home  in  a  way 
that  made  Nancy  the  envy  of  her  neighbors.  Only  a  month  before 
the  arrival  of  his  son,  he  secured  an  order  on  the  county  treasurer 
for  £3  10s  due  him  for  guarding  prisoners.  (20)  Sometime 
before  that,  at  an  auction  sale,  he  spent  $8.92,  a  considerable  sum 
for  that  day,  most  of  it  going  for  dishes  and  spoons.      (21) 

They  soon  removed  to  the  Knob  Creek  farm,  still  considered 
one  of  the  best  in  that  part  of  the  country.  (22)  The  house 
there  was  about  the  same  as  the  one  they  had  left,  and  they  would 
take  their  furnishings  with  them.  This  was  the  only  Kentucky 
home  that  Mr.  Lincoln  afterwards  remembered. 

Living  on  the  main-traveled  road  between  Louisville  and  Nash- 
ville, they  often  entertained  travelers,  thereby  keeping  in  touch 
with  the  great  outside  world.  Their  guests  for  the  night  would 
discuss  a  variety  of  subjects,  bringing  to  them  many  new  view- 
points; would  tell  them  of  the  late  books  and  papers;  and  con- 
tinually add  to  Thomas*  fund  of  stories.  After  his  first  years, 
Abraham  would  absorb  all  this,  ponder  over  the  things  he  learned, 
and  beg  his  mother  for  an  explanation  of  the  things  he  had  not 
understood. 

By  this  time,  twenty-odd  years  had  elapsed  since  the  death  of 
Captain  Lincoln.  The  Indians  were  all  gone,  the  country  was 
rapidly  being  settled,  and  local  governments  were  firmly  established. 
Three  years  before  Abraham  was  born,  Elizabethtown  had  a  new 
brick  court-house.  At  the  time  of  his  birth,  the  best  race-course 
in  Hardin  County  was  at  Middle  Creek,  only  eight  miles  from 
the  Lincoln  Farm.  The  next  year,  the  winners  at  a  meet  there 
received  520  bushels  of  corn  which  had  been  subscribed  by  thirty 
prominent  citizens.  The  same  year,  a  circus  containing  an  elephant 
gave  an  exhibition  at  Elizabethtown.      (23) 

Books  and  newspapers  were  not  plentiful  but  they  could  be 
obtained.  An  old  Bardstown  paper,  published  at  the  time  Abra- 
ham was  six  years  old,  contains  an  advertisement  of  "a  general 
assortment  of  books  of  the  most  approved  authors,  with  school 
books  of  every  description."      (24) 

The  records  show  that  Thomas  received  several  minor  politi- 

12 


cal  appointments.  (25)  These  plums  were  given  to  faithful  and 
successful  political  workers.  So  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  Abraham 
absorbed  his  first  knowledge  of  local  statecraft  and  political  intrigue 
while  still  a  child. 

Sessions  of  the  court  were  attended  by  practically  the  whole 
community,  sometimes  for  purposes  of  litigation,  but  oftener  to 
trade  and  indulge  in  social  recreation.  The  Lincolns  lived  within 
reach  of  four  county-seats,  and  Thomas  probably  attended  some 
of  the  sessions  of  court  at  each.  (26)  We  can  easily  believe 
that  when  Abraham  was  old  enough  he  begged  to  be  taken  along, 
and  that  sometimes  Thomas  took  the  boy  with  him.  It  was 
probably  on  these  occasions  he  received  his  first  bias  toward  the 
legal  profession. 

TRAINING 

Abraham  was  both  the  eldest  and  the  only  son;  and  anyone 
who  has  been  either  the  eldest  or  only  son  in  an  ambitious  and 
religiously  inclined  family  knows  that  the  amount  of  training 
such  a  boy  receives  is  only  limited  by  the  number  of  hours  there 
are  in  a  day,  and  his  own  physical  and  mental  endurance. 

The  Lincoln  family  could  attend  monthly  services  at  the  Little 
Mount  church  near  their  home;  and,  on  some  other  Sundays,  no 
doubt  visited  sister  churches  within  reach.  (27)  Thomas  had 
an  unusually  large  and  expensive  Bible.  Hearing  his  mother  read 
aloud  from  that  book  probably  awakened  in  Abraham  the  interest 
he  took  in  the  Bible  all  his  life.  His  own  reading  in  it,  later, 
undoubtedly  influenced  his  thought,  conduct,  and  style  in  com- 
position. 

No  one  doubts  that  Abraham  was  inherently  honest,  and  both 
the  precept  and  example  of  his  father  would  strengthen  that  ten- 
dency. But  it  would  be  Nancy's  teachings  which  made  him  so 
metriculous  that  he  later  acquired  the  sobriquet  of  "Honest  Abe." 
Her  teaching  him  such  sentiments  as  that  contained  in  the  old  and 
once  popular  couplet, 

"It  is  a  sin  to  steal  a  pin, 
The  same  as  any  greater  thing", 

may  have  been  responsible,  years  afterward,  for  his  walking  a  long 
distance  to  return  a  few  cents  taken  from  a  customer  by  mistake. 
(28)  And  her  lessons  in  "kindness"  were  probably  the  remote 
cause  of  his  once  returning  several  miles,  when  on  a  journey,  to 
release  a  pig  he  had  seen  fast  in  a  mud-hole.      (29) 

That  Thomas  instilled  into  his  son  his  own  dislike  for  slavery 

13 


was  indicated  when  Mr.  Lincoln  once  said  that  he  could  not  re- 
member when  he  did  not  think  that  institution  wrong.      (30) 

Nancy  had  an  unusually  good  education,  judged  by  the  stand- 
ard of  those  days;  and  she  was  both  intellectual  and  ambitious; 
so  we  may  be  quite  sure  that  she  was  never  too  busy  to  teach 
Abraham  his  lessons,  tell  him  a  story  that  would  stimulate  his 
ambition  for  learning,  nor  too  tired  to  answer  his  questions.  All 
the  circumstances  indicate  that  by  his  tenth  year  he  was  reading 
every  book  he  could  borrow,  had  been  taught  to  form  opinions 
of  his  own,  and  that  he  did  not  hesitate  to  express  them.      (31) 

MISFORTUNE'S  ENVIRONMENT 

In  the  meanwhile,  Thomas  Lincoln  had  fallen  upon  evil  days. 
His  title  to  both  the  Nolin  Creek  and  Knob  Creek  farms  had  been 
attacked  in  the  courts. 

At  the  time  Kentucky  was  settled,  that  territory  had  never 
been  officially  surveyed.  Anyone  holding  a  land  warrant  could 
survey  and  file  on  any  piece  of  land  he  desired;  but  his  title  would 
only  be  good  if  no  one  else  had  a  prior  claim.  A  man  might  buy 
a  tract  of  land  and  spend  years  improving  it  for  a  home,  only  to 
find  that  it  was  part  of  a  much  larger  tract  that  had  previously  been 
patented  by  some  distant  and  unknown  owner.  (32)  In  his 
"History  of  Kentucky",  Collins  says; 

"Unnumbered  sorrows,  lawsuits  and  heart  rending  vexations 
were  the  consequences  of  this  unhappy  law.  In  the  unskilled  hands 
of  the  hunters  and  pioneers  of  Kentucky,  entries,  surveys  and 
patents  were  piled  on  each  other,  overlapping  and  crossing  in  end- 
less perplexity."      (33) 

The  records  show  that  by  1816  Thomas  had  lost  one  farm, 
and  despaired  of  saving  the  other.  (34)  The  attendant  litiga- 
tion had  been  vexatious  and  expensive,  probably  consuming  all 
he  had  received  for  the  farm  which  he  sold. 

Nor  was  that  all.  The  evidence  indicates  that  Thomas  started 
for  New  Orleans  with  a  boat  load  of  produce;  that  for  some  reason, 
he  suffered  disaster;  and  that  instead  of  recouping  the  losses  he 
had  sustained  through  defective  land  titles,  he  made  a  substantial 
addition  to  them.  (35)  Dismayed  but  not  yet  beaten,  I  believe 
they  paid  every  obligation,  and  decided  to  take  what  little  they 
h^d  left  and  make  a  /fresh  start,  in  free  territory,  where  they 
could  build  a  home  with  some  prospect  of  being  able  to  retain  it. 

Many  an  early  Kentuckian,  including  the  famous  Daniel  Boone, 
when  dispossessed  of  his  property,  removed  to  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi- 

14 


nols  or  Missouri,  where  the  government  had  surveyed  the  land  into 
square  sections,  and  titles  were  secure. 

In  the  late  fall  of  1816,  Thomas  took  his  family  across  the 
Ohio  into  what  is  now  Spencer  County,  Indiana.  That  country 
was  still  a  wilderness,  but  it  was  probably  the  closest  government 
land  he  could  find.  A  year  later,  Thomas  and  Betsey  Sparrow, 
Nancy's  relatives  and  foster  parents,  joined  them  there.  They  were 
soon  followed  by  another  uncle  and  aunt,  Levi  and  Nancy  Hall. 

Thomas  and  Nancy  were  poor,  now,  poorer  than  they  ever 
had  been  before;  but  they  were  in  a  free  territory  where  the  title 
to  their  home,  when  paid  for,  would  be  secure;  and  they  had  their 
favorite  relatives  near  them  for  mutual  help  and  companionship; 
so  they  hoped  and  believed  that  their  hardest  times  were  over,  and 
that  Fortune  would  now  be  kinder  to  them. 

Then  came  the  crowning  disaster.  An  epidemic  which  the 
settlers  called  "milk  sickness"  swept  over  the  neighborhood;  and, 
in  rapid  succession,  Thomas  and  Betsey  Sparrow,  Levi  and  Nancy 
Hall,  and  Nancy  Lincoln,  died.      (36) 

Need  we  doubt  that  here  and  now  was  where  Thomas  lost 
faith  in  himself  and  hope  for  the  future?  From  Thomas  Lincoln, 
a  leading  and  respected  citizen,  he  had  been  reduced,  in  spite  of 
all  he  could  do,  to  Old  Tom  Lincoln,  a  broken  failure. 

And  what  eiFect  might  we  expect  all  this  to  have  on  the 
mind  of  the  thoughtful,  sensitive  Abraham?  With  probably  some 
hereditary  tendencies  towards  melancholy,  is  it  any  wonder  that 
he  was  afterwards  subject  to  fits  of  depression  so  profound  that 
Mr.  Herndon  once  said  "his  melancholy  dripped  from  him  as  he 
walked?"      (37) 

In  his  later  years,  when  depressed  or  his  life  was  running  in 
a  minor  strain,  Mr.  Lincoln  loved  to  recite  the  poem  which  he  has 
made  famous: 

Oh!  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? 
Like  a  swift,  fleeting  meteor — a  fast-flying  cloud — 
A  flash  of  the  lightning — a  break  of  the  wave — 
Man  passes  from  life  to  his  leuc  in  the  grave. 

t'*  'I*  'f*  *»* 

'Tis  the  wink  of  an  eye;  'tis  the  draught  of  a  breath. 
From  the  blossom  of  health  to  the  paleness  of  death, 
From  the  gilded  saloon  to  the  bier  and  the  shroud; 
Oh!  why  should  the  spirit  of  mortal  be  proud? 

15 


YOUTHFUL  ENVIRONMENT 

About  a  year  after  Nancy's  death,  Thomas  returned  to  Ken- 
tucky, and  married  Sarah  Johnson,  a  widow  with  three  children. 

In  the  one-room  cabin  on  his  clearing,  Thomas  now  had  a 
family  of  eight  for  which  to  provide.  The  soil  was  not  very 
fertile,  and,  with  the  utmost  coaxing,  only  furnished  moderate 
returns.  It  was  necessary  that  they  secure  outside  employment;  and 
Abraham  was  hired  out  to  work  for  other  settlers  whenever  pos- 
sible. He  was  conscientious  about  his  work,  without  pretending 
to  love  it;  was  "nice  to  have  around  the  house",  often  helping  the 
women  folks  with  their  tasks;  so  was  in  good  demand  as  extra 
help. 

He  soon  developed  into  a  young  giant,  reaching  six  feet  and 
four  inches  in  height  during  his  seventeenth  year.  Toil,  clean  living 
and  plain  fare  developed  in  him  to  a  superlative  degree  the  potential 
strength  he  had  inherited  from  his  forefathers.      (38) 

His  work  among  their  neighbors  gave  him  an  opportunity  to 
find  out  what  books  were  had,  read  some  of  them  while  employed, 
and  borrow  others  when  he  went  home.  He  once  told  Leonard 
Swett  that  while  a  boy  in  Indiana  he  had  borrowed  and  read  every 
book  he  could  hear  of  for  fifty  miles  around.      (39) 

He  sometimes  tried  his  own  hand  at  composition.  At  least 
one  of  his  articles  was  published  in  a  paper.  Others  were  extrava- 
gantly praised  by  some  of  his  mentors. 

Whenever  possible,  he  attended  sessions  of  the  court  at  the 
county-seats  within  reach.  He  was  charmed  by  the  legal  arguments 
he  heard,  and  fixed  them  in  his  own  mind  by  repeating  them  at 
the  village  store,  and  to  his  fellow  laborers — sometimes  to  the 
annoyance  of  his  employer.  As  he  grew  up,  a  favorite  diversion 
was  to  re-state  the  things  he  had  learned  in  language  so  plain 
that  the  most  ignorant  of  his  companions  could  not  fail  to  under- 
stand. At  this  time,  too,  he  learned  the  value  of  a  story  in 
illustrating  a  thought. 

As  in  his  childhood  Abraham  had  lived  on  a  main-traveled 
road  running  from  the  north  to  the  south,  so  now  he  was  located 
near  the  principal  avenue  of  travel  from  east  to  west.  The  Ohio 
River,  only  a  few  miles  away,  was  a  main  artery  of  western  travel. 
In  his  book,  "The  Ohio  River,  A  Course  of  Empire",  Hulbert 
says; 

"There  is  no  believing  the  stories  told  of  the  busy  scenes  on 
this  river  and  its  tributaries  while  it  was  for  a  few  mad  years 

16 


hurrying  a  whole  vast  Nation  into  the  Middle  West.  Sixty  and 
seventy  flat  boats  have  been  seen  to  pass  a  given  point  in  a 
single  day.  *  *  *  In  almost  a  moment's  time,  the  population  of 
the  Ohio  Basin  sprang  from  three-quarters  of  a  million  to  over 
three  and  one-half  million  souls.  *  *  *  The  boatman's  whistle 
died  away  *  *  *  [about  1820]  *  *  *  and  the  booming  note  of 
the  steamboat's  whistle  heralded  the  Steamboat  Age." 

The  stream  of  emigrants  passing  down  the  river  often  paused 
for  the  night,  leaving  news  of  other  worlds,  and  thoughts  worth 
pondering  over.  His  work  was  a  ferryman  at  the  mouth  of  Ander- 
son Creek,  and  a  trip  to  New  Orleans  on  a  trading  voyage,  gave 
young  Lincoln  an  insight  into  different  environments,  and  practice 
in  meeting  strangers. 

There  were  only  eight  families  in  the  Little  Pigeon  Creek  settle- 
ment when  the  Lincolns  arrived  there.  But  an  influx  of  new 
settlers  soon  followed.  Among  others,  who  then  came  to  that  part 
of  Indiana,  were  some  English  and  Scotch  emigrants  who  brought 
with  them  many  new  ideas  and  their  best  books. 

That  part  of  Indiana  attracted  the  kind  of  people  he  needed 
for  his  development,  and  the  hardships  incidental  to  his  life  there 
helped  to  instill  in  him  those  qualities  which  enable  a  man  to  hew 
his  way  to  success. 

So  it  was,  altogether,  a  very  promising  young  giant  who  left 
Indiana,  in  the  spring  of  1830,  for  the  Sangamo  country  of  Illinois. 
In  appearance,  he  was  uncouth,  almost  grotesque;  but  he  had  de- 
veloped a  physique  which  commanded  respect,  a  character  that 
inspired  confidence,  and  a  mentality  presaging  the  brilliancy  of  his 
later  career. 


YOUNG-MANHOOD  ENVIRONMENT 

After  seeing  his  parents  settled  on  a  farm  near  Decatur,  Abra- 
ham, now  twenty-one,  struck  out  for  himself.  He  first  worked 
as  a  farm  laborer,  and  at  any  other  employment  that  was  offered 
him.  Incidentally,  he  -continued  to  read  every  new  book  that 
he  found  in  the  homes  where  he  was  employed,  and  borrowed  all 
the  others  he  could  hear  of. 

The  next  spring,  he  accompanied  Denton  OfFutt  on  a  trading 
voyage  to  New  Orleans.  OfFutt  then  employed  him  to  manage  a 
store  and  mill  at  New  Salem,  a  village  on  the  Sangamon  River, 
about  twenty  miles  northwest  of  Springfield. 

Because  it  was  first  hoped  that  New  Salem  would  become  the 
metropolis  of  that  part  of  the  country,  that  town  had  attracted 

17 


some  very  superior  people  from  widely  dilFerent  points.  (40) 
James  Rutledge,  scion  of  the  famous  Southern  family,  embodied 
the  best  traditions  of  his  clan.  His  nephew,  James  Cameron,  was 
both  a  minister  and  business  man.  Mentor  Graham,  the  school- 
master, was  well  educated,  philosophical,  and  loved  his  vocation. 
Jack  Kelso,  a  peculiar,  unpractical  genius,  loved  to  read  and  discuss 
Shakespeare,  Burns  and  Byron.  Dr.  John  Allen  was  at  once 
physician,  counselor  and  friend  to  the  whole  community.  Matthew 
and  Mrs.  Rodgers,  living  only  a  few  miles  away,  had  sons  and  a 
daughter  already  well  advanced  in  their  studies,  and  they  had 
brought  their  text-books  with  them  from  New  York.  Others  had 
come  from  New  England,  bringing  with  them  the  traditions  and 
culture  of  that  section.      (41) 

Young  Lincoln's  passion  for  study  soon  attracted  the  favorable 
notice  of  the  intellectuals.  His  unassuming  manner  and  common 
sense  gave  him  the  confidence  of  plain,  honest  folks  like  Squire 
Bowling  Green.  His  physical  powers  brought  him  the  admiration 
of  the  rough-and-ready  Clary  Grove  boys,  and  their  kind.  His 
character  and  disposition  insured  his  receiving  the  friendship  of  all. 

When  Offutt's  business  failed,  young  Lincoln  bought  a  half 
interest  in  a  store,  receiving  credit  for  the  full  purchase  price.  His 
partner  was  more  interested  in  drink  than  business,  and  Lincoln 
cared  more  for  books  than  trade;  so  it  is  not  surprising  that  they 
closed  their  commercial  career  some  $1,100  in  debt.  (42)  He 
became  a  deputy  surveyor,  and  that  occupation  was  his  principal 
source  of  income  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  at  New 
Salem. 

His  former  wide  reading  had  given  him  a  vast  fund  of  un- 
organized information.  Now,  he  filled  in  the  gaps.  Under  Mentor 
Graham's  efficient  tutorship  and  advice,  he  began  studying  to  a 
more  definite  purpose,  starting  with  English  Grammar.  While 
running  the  New  Salem  store,  he  got  hold  of  a  set  of  Blackstone's 
Commentaries,  and  he  read  these  with  an  appetite  almost  insatiable. 
Later,  he  continued  his  law  studies  under  the  tutorship  of  Major 
Stuart. 

After  a  residence  there  of  only  two  years,  this  young  man  of 
twenty-three  had  so  impressed  the  community  with  his  ambition, 
his  power,  and  his  genius  for  leadership,  that  it  was  suggested  he 
become  a  candidate  for  the  state  legislature.  He  was  defeated,  but 
received  277  out  of  the  290  votes  cast  in  his  own  precinct.  (43) 
In  the  next  four  campaigns,  he  was  an  easy  victor. 

18 


In  the  midst  of  his  first  campaign,  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in 
the  Black  Hawk  War,  and  was  elected  Captain  of  his  company. 
He  was  afterwards  inclined  to  speak  slightingly  of  this  experience, 
but  he  probably  learned  much  about  military  matters  that  was  of 
vital  service  to  him  when  Commander-in-Chief  during  the  Great 
Rebellion;  and  an  English  military  expert  has  recently  written  a 
book  to  prove  that  the  outstanding  military  genius  developed  by 
our  Civil  War  was  not  Grant,  or  Sherman,  or  Lee,  but  Abraham 
Lincoln.      (44) 

When  he  went  back  to  Vandalia  for  his  second  term  in  the  state 
legislature,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  the  longest  of  Sangamon  County's 
famous  "Long  Nine."  Their  paramount  ambition  was  to  secure 
the  state  capital.  They  made  Mr.  Lincoln  their  leader;  and  the 
capital  was  removed  to  Springfield.  He  soon  became  the  leader  of 
his  party  in  the  state,  a  position  he  retained  until  he  went  to 
Washington. 

New  Salem  has  well  been  called  "Lincoln's  Alma  Mater."  She 
helped  him  to  escape  drudgery,  guided  him  in  his  studies,  fostered 
his  ambition,  and  sent  him  to  the  state  legislature  where  he  could 
whet  his  mind  by  contact  with  those  of  the  most  brilliant  men  of 
the  state.   It  was  at  New  Salem  that  he  found  himself. 


One  incident  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  at  this  time  has  been  so  dis- 
torted, exaggerated,  and  given  prominence  out  of  all  proportion  to 
its  importance,  that  many  have  been  deceived. 

When  he  arrived  at  New  Salem,  Rutledge  ^  Cameron  owned 
the  mill,  the  tavern  and  other  property  there,  besides  farms  on  Sand 
Ridge,  a  few  miles  away. 

There  had  come  to  the  town  from  New  York  a  young  man 
who  gave  his  name  as  McNeil.  He  was  a  good  trader  and  a  shrewd 
financier.  He  pretended  to  love  Ann  Rutledge,  a  charming  girl  of 
seventeen;  and  she  trustingly  gave  him  her  affections. 

Rutledge  ^  Cameron  became  financially  involved,  and  had  to 
sell  their  farms  on  Sand  Ridge.  McNeil  bought  them  at  bargain 
prices. 

When  he  found  that,  instead  of  giving  him  social  and  financial 
prestige,  Ann's  family  might  even  become  something  of  a  charge 
upon  him,  his  love  for  her  cooled.  He  then  told  her  that  his  real 
name  was  McNamar,  and  that  he  was  going  east  to  see  his  family. 
After  he  left,  his  letters  gradually  became  colder  and  less  frequent 
until  they  ceased  altogether.      (45) 

Later,  the  proud  but  disappointed  girl  and  young  Lincoln  be- 

19 


came  engaged.  There  does  not  seem  to  have  been  anything  very 
ardent  in  their  courtship.  She  was  to  attend  college  at  Jacksonville; 
he  was  to  continue  his  law  studies;  sometime,  they  were  to  be 
married. 

In  the  fall  of  1835,  an  epidemic  which  was  called  "malarial 
fever"  swept  over  the  country,  few  families  escaping.  Many  died. 
Among  those  attacked  were  Ann  Rutledge,  her  father  and  young 
Lincoln.  On  August  25,  Ann  died,  followed  in  a  few  weeks  by 
her  father.    Mr.  Lincoln  soon  recovered.      (46) 

Over  thirty  years  later,  in  1866,  Mr.  Herndon  interviewed 
McNamar,  who  had  returned  to  New  Salem  and  become  wealthy. 
He  told  Herndon  that  the  girl  he  jilted  had  loved  him  so  much 
that  she  died  of  a  broken  heart,  and  that  young  Lincoln  had  loved 
his  cast-off  sweetheart  so  devotedly  that  her  death  caused  Lincoln 
to  become  insane.      (47) 

He  forgot  to  say  that  Ann's  father  had  died  from  anguish 
caused  by  not  securing  him  for  a  son-in-law. 

Mr.  Herndon,  who  hated  Mrs.  Lincoln,  hastened  to  deliver 
a  lecture  in  which  he  related  as  facts  the  falsehoods  that  McNamar 
had  told  him.  Mr.  Lincoln's  former  intimates  were  astounded  and 
indignant;  (48)  but  both  Herndon  and  Lamon  told  the 
McNamar  version  of  the  story  in  their  biographies;  and  it  soon 
became  History,  as  defined  by  him  who  called  that  science  "a  lie 
agreed  to". 

That  Mr.  Lincoln  admired,  pitied,  and  perhaps  felt  some 
affection  for  the  beautiful  Ann  Rutledge,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
That  her  death  caused  him  to  become  insane  is  disproved  by  the 
records,  which  show  that  he  continued  to  do  his  work  as  post- 
master and  surveyor  with  his  usual  accuracy.  (49)  That  his 
heart  was  not  crushed  is  shown  by  his  soon  being  in  the  midst 
of  a  love  affair  with  Mary  Owens.      (50) 

LEGAL  ENVIRONMENT 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  early  in 
1837.  He  removed  to  Springfield,  and  became  the  junior  partner 
in  the  firm  of  Stuart  ^  Lincoln.  He  was  pitted  in  the  courts 
against  men  of  much  natural  ability,  many  of  them  afterwards 
attaining  great  eminence.  He  showed  so  much  potential  ability 
that  Judge  Logan  offered  him  a  partnership,  which  he  accepted. 
This  enabled  him  to  continue  his  studies  under  the  direction  of  a 
noted  preceptor  and  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  bar.      (51) 

20 


A  natural  leader,  he  at  length  wearied  of  occupying  a  sub- 
ordinate position  in  his  firm.  Because  of  this,  and  possibly  financial 
and  political  reasons,  he  resigned  as  a  junior,  about  the  first  of 
1 844,  and  became  senior  partner  in  the  new  firm  of  Lincoln  ^ 
Herndon.  This  change  made  it  possible  for  him  to  attend  each 
session  of  the  Circuit  Court  in  all  the  counties  of  the  Eight  Dis- 
trict; and,  for  years,  he  was  the  only  lawyer  who  did  that.      (52) 

At  this  time,  one  term  as  a  member  of  the  national  House  of 
Representatives  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  study  such  men  as 
Webster,  Calhoun  and  Benton,  at  close  range,  and  an  insight  into 
the  workings  of  the  government  at  Washington. 

His  success  with  juries,  before  the  courts,  and  on  appeals, 
gradually  caused  both  litigants  and  local  attorneys  to  seek  his 
help.  He  became  a  favorite  with  Judge  Davis,  and  sometimes 
occupied  the  bench  for  that  jurist  when  the  judge  was  called 
away.  (53)  His  cases  gradually  increased  in  number  and  im- 
portance until  he  finally  took  Judge  Logan's  place  as  the  leader 
of  the  bar.  (54)  It  is  believed  that  he  tried  more  cases  in  the 
Circuit  Court,  and  argued  a  greater  number  before  the  Supreme 
Court,  than  any  other  lawyer  of  his  day.      (55) 

The  influence  of  his  legal  training  is  plainly  shown  in  the 
self-confidence  and  resourcefulness  of  his  later  years.  New  questions 
did  not  confuse  him;  he  faced  emergencies  with  perfect  serenity; 
and  he  had  long  been  accustomed  to  responsibility  when  he  was 
called  on  to  decide  questions  of  national  importance.  In  his  contest 
with  Douglas,  it  was  his  skill  and  experience  as  a  lawyer  that 
enabled  him  to  clear  the  case  of  technicalities  and  swing  it  to  the 
voters  in  such  a  way  that  he  was  the  final  victor  before  the  bar 
of  public  opinion. 

It  was  a  small  group  of  men  who  had  learned  to  know  and 
appreciate  him  on  the  Old  Eight  Circuit  who  urged  his  nom- 
ination with  so  much  earnestness  and  skill,  at  the  Chicago  Con- 
vention, in  1860,  that  they  gave  him  to  the  nation.      (56) 

Long  before  he  was  called  to  Washington,  his  daily  life  in 
the  courts  had  made  him  familiar  with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men.  Years  before  he  encountered  them  in  his  cabinet,  he  had 
taken  the  measure  of,  and  learned  how  to  handle,  such  men  as 
Stanton  and  Seward  and  Chase.  Where  a  man  of  less  experience 
or  of  other  training  would  have  quarreled  with  them,  or  been  him- 
self torn  apart  in  their  struggles  for  supremacy,  he  handled  them 
with  the  sure  touch  of  command  that  made  them  all  work  together 
for  the  salvation  of  the  nation.      (57) 

21 


DOMESTIC  ENVIRONMENT 

Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  fortunate  in  his  Domestic  Environment, 
notwithstanding  a  wide-spread,  popular  opinion  to  the  contrary; 
and  there  is  no  good  evidence  that  his  heart  was  ever  seriously 
engaged  before  he  met  Miss  Mary  Todd. 

Miss  Todd  was  one  of  the  Todds,  of  Lexington,  Kentucky. 
She  had  come  to  Springfield  to  visit  her  sister,  the  wife  of  a  son 
of  ex-Governor  Edwards.  They  had  wealth  and  were  leaders  in 
society.  She  was  splendidly  educated,  speaking  French  fluently. 
She  was  handsome,  vivacious,  brilliant  in  repartee,  proud,  ambi- 
tious, and  high-tempered.  (58)  Springfield,  then  the  capital  of 
the  state,  had  an  unusual  number  of  ambitious  and  promising 
young  men.  Several  were  soon  paying  earnest  court  to  Miss  Todd, 
Mr.  Lincoln  among  them.  To  the  surprise  and  dismay  of  her 
family,  she  gave  her.  love  to  that  brilliant,  but  poor  and  unpolished, 
young  man. 

The  course  of  their  true  love  did  not  run  smooth.  He  was  a 
careless,  over-confident  lover;  she  an  exacting,  jealous  sweetheart. 
On  a  date  which  he  afterwards  referred  to  as  "the  fatal  first  of 
January",  their  engagement  was  broken.  Both  were  very  un- 
happy. Through  the  good  office  of  a  friend,  a  reconciliation  was 
affected,  and  they  were  married.  He  was  too  poor  to  furnish  a 
house;  but  she  loved  him  enough  to  leave  the  finest  home  in  the 
city^  and  live  with  him  in  a  third-rate  tavern,  at  a  total  cost  of 
$4.00  a  week  for  both.  (59)  Some  months  later,  he  bought  the 
modest  home  in  which  they  lived  during  the  rest  of  their  life  in 
Springfield. 

Mr.  Lincoln  never  had  what  Herndon  called  "a  money  sense"; 
but  she  was  economical,  almost  to  a  fault;  and  she  always  stretched 
his  meager  income  until  it  provided  for  him  a  comfortable  and 
well-regulated  home.  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  Henry  C.  Whitney,  and 
Henry  B.  Rankin,  who  were  among  their  most  intimate  friends, 
have  all  testified  about  her  ability  as  a  housewife.  (60)  Mrs. 
Lincoln  adapted  herself  cheerfully  to  all  those  exacting  functions 
at  their  house  required  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  public  life.  (61) 
No  one  else  ever  had  such  faith  in  Lincoln  as  she.  He  had  less 
faith  and  hope  in  himself  than  she  had.  She  cheered  him  when 
he  ran,  sympathized  with  him  when  he  fell,  and  always  encour- 
aged him  to  press  on.  She  was  the  only  one  who  dared,  or  could, 
lead  him  out  of  his  fits  of  melancholy.  (62)  And  she  prevented 
his  being  handicapped  and  beggared  by  a  swarm  of  the  unworthy 

22 


relatives  of  his  mother  and  stepmother  as,  during  his  later  years, 
his  father  had  been. 

She  was  anxious  that  he  receive  political  preferment,  and  be- 
came his  shrewdest  councillor.  She  knew  that  his  indifference  to 
conventions,  in  diet,  dress  and  conduct,  was  a  social,  professional 
and  political  handicap.  When  all  other  means  of  correction  failed, 
or  she  had  consumed  her  small  stock  of  patience,  she  used  her 
last  weapon,  and  stormed  him  with  reproaches. 

Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  enjoy  the  verbal  castigations  he  some- 
times received — no  man  does;  but  he  knew  he  deserved  them, 
appreciated  her  devotion,  and  he  never  doubted  the  sentiment  he 
had  caused  to  be  engraved  in  her  wedding  ring — "Love  is  Eternal**. 

That  during  her  later  years,  she  suffered  from  a  cerebral  tumor, 
which  caused  her  to  act  erratically  and  finally  led  to  her  death, 
does  not  alter  the  fact  that  during  the  most  of  his  public  career 
she  was  his  greatest  inspiration  and  he  loved  her. 

TIMES 

Only  in  the  Times  in  which  he  lived,  probably,  could  the 
Lincoln  that  we  know  have  been  possible.  In  1860,  the  grasp 
he  had  of  the  slavery  question  in  all  its  bearings;  his  ability  to 
analyze  the  subject,  historically  and  constitutionally,  as  no  one 
else  had  ever  done;  and  a  character  which  gave  him  the  confidence 
and  friendship  of  all  factions  of  his  party,  made  him  its  logical 
candidate  for  President.  The  division  of  the  voters  who  opposed 
him  into  three  parties  insured  his  election. 

But  only  two-fifths  of  the  voters  had  supported  him;  and 
many  of  them  feared  he  was  too  conservative,  or  too  radical. 
When  his  election  was  quickly  followed  by  the  secession  of  several 
Southern  states,  and  war  became  a  possibility,  many  who  had 
voted  for  him  became  panic  stricken  and  doubtful.  At  the  time 
of  his  inauguration,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  had  the  entire  con- 
fidence and  loyal  support  of  over  one-fifth  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
(63) 

Though  compelled  to  make  use  of  the  most  discordant  ele- 
ments, he,  for  four  long  years,  through  toilsome  days  and  sleepless 
nights,  pressed  on  towards  his  goal — instructing,  warning,  en- 
couraging, praising  or  chiding,  various  individuals  and  factions, 
as  occasion  demanded.  The  Congress  and  his  Cabinet,  he  handled 
as  an  instructor  might  his  class — a  coach,  his  crew.      (64) 

23 


On  April  9,  1865,  General  Lee  surrendered.  In  the  mean- 
while, both  houses  of  Congress  had  passed  the  Thirteenth  Amend- 
ment; and  its  ratification  was  assured. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  saved  the  Union  and  made  Freedom  secure. 


For  the  power  to  accomplish  this,  he  was  indebted,  I  believe, 
to  his  Ancestry,  his  Training,  and  his  Environments;  and  in  the 
Times  in  which  he  lived,  I  think  he  found  the  opportunity  to 
develop,  refine  and  display  a  genius  for  statesmanship  so  trans- 
cendent that  its  comprehension  has  been  the  despair  of  every 
student  of  his  life. 


24 


AUTHORITIES 

Arnold:      The  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,    By  Isaac  N.  Arnold. 
Chicago,  1887. 

Atkinson:      The  Boyhood   of  Lincoln.    By  Eleanor  Atkinson. 
New  York,  1908. 

Barton  (Life)  :      The  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln.    2  Vol.   By  Wil- 
liam E.  Barton.    Indianapolis,  1925. 

Barton    (Paternity)  :      The  Paternity  of  Abraham  Lincoln.    By 

William  E.  Barton.    New  York,  1920. 
Barton    (New  Salem)  :      Abraham  Lincoln  and  New  Salem.    By 

William  E.  Barton.    Transactions  No.   33.    111.  State  His. 

Soc,  1926. 
Barton  (Women  Loved)  :      The  Women  Lincoln  Loved.   By  Wil- 
liam E.  Barton.   Indianapolis,  1927. 
Blaine:      Twenty  Years  of  Congress  (1861-1881)   2  Vol.     By 

James  G.  Blaine.    Norwich,  Conn.,  1884. 
Browne,  R.  H. :      Abraham  Lincoln  and  The  Men  of  His  Time. 

2  Vol.   By  Robert  H.  Browne.   Chicago,  1907. 
Burgess:      The  Civil  War  and  the  Constitution.    2  Vol.  By  John 

W.  Burgess.    New  York,  1901. 
Clark:      Lamons  "Life  of  Lincoln" .    In  "Proceedings",  Vol.  LI, 

Massachusetts  Historical  Society.   Boston,  1918. 
Collins:      History  of  Kentucky.    By  Lewis  Collins.    Revised  by 

Richard  H.  Collins.    Louisville,  Ky.,  1877. 
Gridley:      The  Story  of  Abraham  Lincoln.    By  Eleanor  Gridley. 

N.  P.  1900. 
Herndon  ^  Weik:      Herndons  Lincoln — The  True  Story  of  a 

Great  Life.    3  Vol.    By  William  H.  Herndon  and  Jesse  W. 

Weik.    Chicago,  1889. 
Hill:      Lincoln,  The  Lawyer.    By  Frederick  T.  Hill.    New  York, 

1906. 
Lamon:      The  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln.    By  Ward  H.  Lamon. 

Boston,  1872. 
Newton:      Lincoln  and  Herndon.    By  Joseph  F.  Newton.    Cedar 

Rapids,  la.,   1910. 
Nicolay  ^  Hay:      Abraham  Lincoln,  Complete  Works.    2  Vol. 

Edited  by  John  G.  Nicolay  and  John  Hay.   New  York,  1920. 

25 


Nicolay:      The  Personal  Traits  of  Abraham  Lincoln,    By  Helen 

Nicolay.   New  York,  1912. 
Old  Salem  League:     Lincoln  and  New  Salem,  By  The  Old  Salem 

Lincoln  League   (Inc.)    Petersburg,  111.,  N.  D. 
Rankin:      Personal  Recollections  of  Abraham  Lincoln,   By  Henry 

B.  Rankin.    New  York,  1916. 

Rhodes:      History  of  The  United  States,     (1850-1877)    7  Vol. 

By  James  F.  Rhodes.    New  York,   1907. 
Rice:      Reminiscences  of  Abraham  Lincoln,    Collected  and  Edited 

by  Allen  T.  Rice.   New  York,  1909. 
Rothschild    (Honest  Abe)  :      Honest  Abe,  A  Study  in  Integrity. 

By  Alonzo  Rothschild.    Boston,  1917. 
Rothschild   (Master)  :      Lincoln,    Master    of   Men,     By    Alonzo 

Rothschild.   Boston,  1906. 
Richards:      Abraham  Lincoln,  The  Lawyer  Statesman.    By  John 

T.  Richards.    Boston,  1916. 
Stephenson:      Lincoln,   By  Nathaniel  W.  Stephenson.   Indianapo- 
lis, 1922. 
Tarbell  (Early  Life)  :      The  Early  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,   By 

Ida  M.  Tarbell  and  J.  McCan  Davis.    New  York,  1896. 
Tarbell  (Life)  :      The  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,   2  Vol.  in  1.  By 

Ida  M.  Tarbell.    New  York,  1923. 
Tarbell    (Footsteps) :     In  The  Footsteps  of  The  Lincolns,    By 

Ida  M.  Tarbell.   New  York,  1924. 
Warren:      Lincolns   Parentage   and    Childhood,     By    Louis    A. 

Warren.   New  York,  1926. 
Weik:      The  Real  Lincoln,  By  Jesse  W.  Weik.   Boston,  1922. 
Whitney  (Life)  :      Life  and  Works  of  Lincoln,   2  Vol.   By  Henry 

C.  Whitney.    Commemorative  Edition,  Vol.    1^2.    New 
York,  1907. 

Whitney  (Circuit)  :      Life  on  The  Circuit  with  Lincoln,  By  Henry 
C.Whitney.   Boston,  1892. 


26 


REFERENCES 

1.  Hcrndon  ^  Weik,  1;  Weik,  13,  28;  Barton   (Paternity)   35. 

2.  Herndon  ^  Weik,  3;  Barton  (Paternity)   35;  Newton,  320- 

321. 

3.  Barton  (Paternity)  35;  Newton,  306-308,  320;  Clark,  498- 

500;  Warren,  38. 

4.  Atkinson,   11,  21,  39,  44,  45;  Gridley,  60,  97,   191,  201; 

Lamon,  16,  31,  40   (note). 

5.  Warren  viii;  Tarbell   (Footsteps)    108;  Barton  (Life)  i,  13. 

6.  Tarbell  (Life)  i,  1;  Whitney  (Life)  i,  2-3. 

7.  Barton   (Life)  i.  22-23;  Tarbell  (Life)  i,  1-2. 

8.  Tarbell  (Life)  i,  1-2;  Whitney  (Life)  i,  2-3. 

9.  Tarbell   (Footsteps)   56. 

10.  Warren,  11;  Barton  (Life)  i,  30,  (2334  a.)  ;  Tarbell  (Foot- 

steps)  66   (3000  a.). 

11.  Barton  (Life)  i,  11-12;  Warren,  13-15. 

12.  Tarbell  (Life)  i,  6;  Tarbell  (Early  Life)  233. 

13.  Warren,  47;  Barton  (Life)  i,  75;  Tarbell  (Footsteps)  74. 

14.  Warren,  54. 

15.  Warren,  56. 

16.  Herndon  ^  Weik,  3;  Warren,  34-36. 

17.  Barton  (Life)  i,  58;  Warren,  29,  62. 

18.  Barton  (Life)  i,  66. 

19.  Tarbell   (Footsteps)   89. 

20.  Warren,  55;  Barton  (Life)  i,  12. 

21.  Warren,  51,  129;  Barton  (Life)  i,  73. 

22.  Tarbell  (Footsteps)   101;  Warren,  166;  Barton  (Life)  i,  93. 

23.  Collins,  308;  Tarbell  (Footsteps)  90;  Warren,  254.  257. 

27 


24.  Warren,  197. 

25.  Warren,  273;  Tarbell    (Life)   i,  13. 

26.  Barton  (Life)  i,  97, 

27.  Barton  (Life)  i,  105;  Warren,  243. 

28.  Tarbell  (Life)  i,  65;  Arnold  (Life)   38;  Old  Salem  League, 

35. 

29.  Nicolay  (Personal  Traits)  8 1 ;  Herndon  ^  Weik,  150. 

30.  Nicolay^  Hay  (Works)  ii,  508. 

31.  Tarbell  (Footsteps)    107;  Browne,  R.  H.,  i,  64;  Herndon  ^ 

Weik,  22.   Per  contra,  Warren,  196. 

32.  Barton  (Life)  i,  99-100;  Warren,  188-189. 

33.  Collins,  813. 

34.  Warren,    189-191;   Barton    (Life)    i,    100;   Tarbell    (Foot- 

steps)  111. 

35.  Tarbell  (Early  Life)   233;  Gridley,  61. 

36.  Herndon  ^  Weik,  27;  Barton  (Life)  i,  115. 

37.  Herndon^  Weik,  588;  Whitney  (Circuit)  139-140;  Browne, 

R.  H.,  i,  82. 

38.  Herndon   ^   Weik,    61-62;    Rice,    71     (Article   by   Swett)  ; 

Stephenson,  15;  Rothschild  (Master)  8-33. 

39.  Rice,  71    (Article  by  Swett) . 

40.  Rankin,  61-95;  Tarbell  (Footsteps)   172. 

41.  Rankin,  61-95. 

42.  Tarbell  (Life)   105;  Herndon  ^  Weik,  109;  Barton  (Life)  i, 

183;  Rothschild  (Honest  Abe)   24. 

43.  Barton   (Life)   i,   182;  Tarbell   (Early  Life)    158;  Herndon 

^  Weik,  105. 

44.  "The  Military  Genius  of  Abraham  Lincoln".    By  Brigadier- 

General  Colin  R.  Ballard,   C.  B.,   C.  M.   G.    Oxford 
University  Press,  London,   1926. 

45.  Barton  (Life)  i,  211-213,   (Women  Loved)    167-186;  Tar- 

bell (Footsteps)  211-217.   Herndon  ^  Weik,  128-135; 
Rankin,   61-95, 

28 


46.  Rankin,  73,  87;  Barton   (Life)   i,  218. 

47.  Barton   (Life)   i,  219-221;  Rankin,  61-95. 

48.  Barton  (New  Salem)    128;  Rankin,  91-95. 

49.  Rankin,  87-88;  Barton   (Life)   i,  223. 

50.  Herndon  y  Weik,  161;  Tarbell  (Life)  i,  153;  Barton  (Life) 

i,  224-237. 

51.  Hill,  93,  113-115;  Richards,  26. 

52.  Hill,  167;  Whitney  (Circuit)  40. 

53.  Hill,  188;  Whitney  (Circuit)  263. 

54.  Hill,  202;  Richards,  66)  Rice,  123-141. 

55.  Hill,  202;  Richards,  63. 

56.  Hill,  195,  285;  Blaine,  i,  168;  Burgess,  i,  65. 

57.  Hill,  206-207. 

58.  Herndon  ^  Weik,  207-208;  Whitney  (Circuit)  96;  Rankin, 

157-201. 

59.  Whitney  (Circuit)  93;  Nicolay  ^  Hay  (Works)  i,  81-82. 

60.  Arnold,  82-83;  Whitney    (Circuit)    96;  Rankin,   157-201; 

Barton  (Women  Loved)  281. 

61.  Rankin,  172;  Tarbell  (Footsteps)  370-371. 

62.  Rankin,  174;  Weik,  94-95. 

63.  Blaine,  i,  216,  273,  290;  Burgess,  i,  145;  Rhodes,  iii,  144. 

64.  Stephenson,  188-414;  Rothschild  (Master  of  Men)   121-288. 


29 


THE  imm  OF  THE 

JUN  7     1833 
UNiVEHSlTY  OF  IIUNOIS, 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.7L63GH81A  C002 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  PEORIA 


3  0112  031819862 


